What is best gaming PC build for $3,000 or less

[mac336]

My brother wants to buy an alienware aurora r4 for about 3 grand (with all his extra features).

I dont know anything about pc gaming computers. I figured you guys could give some input as to alternatives that arent so overpriced

 

[mwmorph]

I have a dual monitor, overclocked 3570, with 32GB of ram and SLI GTX 670s and it cost me less than 3 grand and I absolutely splurged needlessly on every component.

What is your brother looking to do with the computer and does he really need a $3000 computer when he likely wont see any difference with a $2000 computer performance wise unless hes running some specific games at multi-monitor resolutions?

For $3 grand, this is more or less my build, which was absolutely overkill for anything. You can save quite a bit of money buy not going for the cosmos 2 and dropping to 16GB ram without affecting anything at all. Hell you could get away with 1 video card too if you're not using multiple monitors.

CPU:Intel Core i5 3570k at 4.2Ghz
CPU Cooler: Phanteks PH-TC14PE
Ram: 32GB DDR3 (IIRC Patriot DDR 1866, though you likely won't see any difference with even 16 or 8 gb unless you need to do large projects with photoshop or premiere pro)
Motherboard: Asus P8Z77-V Pro
GPU: 2x Geforce GTX 670SLI (Do noy buy a Gigabyte Windforce board with the Asus motherboard, it refuses to run at PCI-E 3.0 speeds on the Asus board, learned this the hard way)
SSD : 256GB Crucial M4
Hard Drive: 3TB Seagate Barracuda
PSU: Rosewill Capstone 750-M (Superflower 80+ Gold PSU, outstanding rating by Johnnyguru)
Case: Cooler Master Cosmos 2
Monitors: 2x Dell U2312HM Monitors
Keyboard and Mouse: Corsair K90 and M60 (The K90 takes quite a bit of getting used to for typing, but works great for gaming)
Sound Card: Creative Sound Blaster X-Fi Titanium
Speakers: Logitech Z623 speakers
Headphones: Audio Technica ATH-A700D headphones
Microphone: Clip on mic
Operating System: Win 7 Pro
DVD Drive: Asus DVD +-RW

Looking at the Alienware prices, it seems like it's $300-$800 profit for Alienware depending on the upgrades you're getting.

For bang for the buck, I saved this as a build for a friend a couple weeks ago:

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant / Benchmarks

CPU: Intel Core i5-3570K 3.4GHz Quad-Core Processor ($189.99 @ Microcenter)
CPU Cooler: Cooler Master Hyper 212 EVO 82.9 CFM Sleeve Bearing CPU Cooler ($29.99 @ Microcenter)
Motherboard: ASRock Z77 Extreme4 ATX LGA1155 Motherboard ($134.99 @ Microcenter)
Memory: G.Skill Ripjaws X Series 16GB (2 x 8GB) DDR3-1600 Memory ($89.99 @ Newegg)
Storage: Samsung Spinpoint F3 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($89.99 @ Newegg)
Storage: Crucial M4 256GB 2.5" Solid State Disk ($209.00 @ B&H)
Video Card: Gigabyte GeForce GTX 670 2GB Video Card ($399.98 @ NCIX US)
Case: Corsair 400R ATX Mid Tower Case ($89.99 @ Newegg)
Power Supply: Corsair 600W ATX12V Power Supply ($49.99 @ Newegg)
Optical Drive: Sony AD-7280S-0B DVD/CD Writer ($17.99 @ Amazon)
Operating System: Microsoft Windows 7 Home Premium SP1 (64-bit) ($90.63 @ Amazon)
Total: $1392.53
(Prices include shipping and discounts when available.)
(Generated by PCPartPicker 2012-08-12 21:44 EDT-0400)

 

[DucatiMonster696]

He should learn to build it himself. He'll learn a lot more and be able to ensure his money is spent in key areas that matter.

 

[OCNewbie]

I guess the Alienware ads gave your brother the impression he needs to spend close to $3k to get a good gaming system?

 

[gladiatorua]

If he is willing to spend 3k then sinking money into multiple 27" displays and build everything else himself is a good idea. It's not that hard and I'm sure finding someone with experience is not a problem.

 

[Kalmah]

It depends on what you have and what you intend to need. For instance, I'm in a position where if I decide to upgrade, all I will need to do is grab a motherboard, processor and (maybe) ram(depending on budget). I could grab a motherboard without bells and whistles for $45(although I'd have to be very picky at this price and careful), then grab a processor for a few hundred and I'd be good.

Once you have a home-built computer it's just small upgrades here and there.
If you have an old desktop, you could possibly strip parts from it such as dvd drive and hard drives.

I haven't planned on upgrading in a couple of years so I have no price knowledge right now, but to give a guess I'd say you could put something like this together:

processor: $200
graphics card: $200
motherboard $75
ram: $130
Power supply: $150
Hard drive: $150
DVD drive: $80
Case: $75-$300

Well under $2k. And then forever after it's just juggling upgrades with graphics card, processor, motherboard and ram. (with an occasional hard drive upgrade). I'm still using a couple of hard drives from some old Compaqs from the Windows ME era for backup space.

If you're unfamiliar with building your own, spend a month researching. Keep updated on what others are building in the hardware forums here. With time you'll get a general idea of what you should be aiming for.

The basic concept is fairly simple. Once you choose your processor, choose a motherboard with same processor socket type and same rated FSB. Then pick some ram that the motherboard says it's compatible with... etc. Once it's all pieced together post your build up on a forum for feedback.

 

[BladeVenom]

He should learn to build it himself. He'll learn a lot more and be able to ensure his money is spent in key areas that matter.

+1

No need to spend $3,000 anymore for a gaming PC.

I'd go with a triple monitor Eyefinity set up, and still spend less than $2,000.

 

[Soundmanred]

LOL

 

[sigurros81]

Until they come out with next gen games, a tower built for $1500 can run anything these days.

I built my rig about 2 years ago for about $1400, and the only two games that give me performance issues maxed out are Crysis 2 and Battlefield 3.

 

[JTsyo]

He could go 690s in SLI and that'll eat up his budget.

 

[micrometers]

Intel i5 3450 - $180
z68 MB - $80
ssd- $80
ddr3 ram - $40
video card- $115. I got a deal for a radeon 6870

I recently configured and ordered a system myself. Came out to around 600 total?

 

[Rakewell]

He should learn to build it himself. He'll learn a lot more and be able to ensure his money is spent in key areas that matter.

QFT

 

[micrometers]

The big thing is that modern video cards require good power supplies that a typical system from Dell or HP will not have. In that regard, it ends up being cheaper, still, to build your own, since with a Dell or HP you still have to upgrade parts.

 

[Ferzerp]

SLI/CFX of top end cards: $1000
nice 30" monitor: $1300 (minimum)

It's very easy to spend $3k on a gaming system. Mine is probably around $3.5k-$4k or so currently.

 

[aaksheytalwar]

You get shoes for $50 and for $500. They are meant for different people. Similarly you get gaming PCs for 1k and you get for 10k. Not meant for the same class of people.

Provided you can afford to upgrade a 3k rig with an additional 1.5k a year plus the cost of selling old parts, it is fine. IMO just getting a good audio setup which means speakers, sound card and sometimes stands can set you back 1k. Monitor another 1k.

Even if you get a single $500 card, the rest of the rig can easily work out to be 1500-2500+ usd so 3-5k isn't too much for a system. If you can afford to keep it upgraded yearly, go for it. But if you just buy once in 2-3 years then better to spend $1500ish at a time but upgrade yearly than to blow it on hardware which won't last long.

Just a good ups $200 mouse $100 Kb $100 mouse pad $50 and we have spent nearly 500 bucks without getting inside the cabinet.

Of course there are cheaper options available. But then there is cheap food and cheap shoes or whatever available as well. It is about passion.

 

[aaksheytalwar]

+1

No need to spend $3,000 anymore for a gaming PC.

I'd go with a triple monitor Eyefinity set up, and still spend less than $2,000.

Wrong. No 2k system which is complete and balanced can manage games at 3x1080p eyed infinity while playing them maxed out at 60 fps min. Not even without any AA.

The minimum you will need is 7950 CF which won't be able to play BF3 Crysis etc at those settings and at least 10 other games which matter the most. To do a neat job you will need 680 4gb tri sli which alone eats the entire 2k budget.


My suggestion to the OP:

3770k
H100
Samsung 30nm 16gb ram
680 oc or 7970 ghz edition. If you want cf which I don't then 7950 cf
256gb ssd, budget is diff for 512gb
3TB HDD best value for money
The best cabinet within 150 bucks
A 27" TN panel or 24" IPS panel based on need. Can't fit a 27" IPS in a balanced way
Get yourself quality speakers. Audio engine or something better. At least $300-400 here
Blu ray burner
A quality 650+ watts without dual gpu and current needs


All this will set up back by about $2500. You could fit a 27" IPS but I wouldn't recommend in this budget. But a hp 27" IPS costs 650ish and that is good for this budget

 

[Ferzerp]

Also, when you're in to that territory, you may as well use 30" monitors instead of settling for bezels in the middle of your display.....